Inspired By: Festive Sewing

Hello and Happy December to you all! Since Christmas parties, work break ups and the like are just around the corner, I've been thinking Festive Sewing lately. After all, given my RTW ban this year, if I want something new I've got to DIY it. So I have!

Going back over my Pinterest boards I noticed I've pinned rather a lot of versions of these sequinned skirts:

Sequins are not really the kind of fabric I usually gravitate towards, but I really like the way this is "festive" without being too glitzy.... sequins for the introvert, if you like!

Then I found some fabric at Spotlight that I loved - a kind of muted bronze - and that decided it. I had some black silk chiffon that I thought would work as a sleeveless Style Arc Tiffany Blouse to go with it, but in the end I really wanted a top with a higher neckline to go with a mini (though not quite as mini as above!). Plus, to be completely honest, I couldn't face the thought of sewing chiffon just yet....

So instead I went with the Laurie Tee from Named Patterns. I've been wanting to try their designs since I saw them, so it was a good excuse!

At first I'd planned to use BHL's Charlotte Skirt pattern and lop off some length. But then I found New Look 6107 in amongst my patterns and thought its lower waistline and fewer darts might work better.

I already had a similarly coloured stable knit in my stash which I used to underline the sequins, since it's quite drapey and I wanted a more structured look. I used a lightweight fuse in the waistband, but I think if I ever make another I think I'd use something finer still; the seams got quite bulky.

I finished the inside seams with a zigzag stitch, but the hem I covered in wide organza ribbon folded in half and then stitched it down by hand. The raw edges where the sequins are cut are quite scratchy and I thought that the organza might give any tights I wear a fighting chance!

Now I'm not claiming to be an expert at all after one skirt, but just in case someone out there finds it useful, here are my thoughts on sewing sequinned fabric:

1.  Pick a pattern with as few seams as possible! There's no disguising seams or making them subtle - keep it simple :)

2.  Don't skimp on the basting if you underline it. Really. Do more than you think you need - it's worth it to have fabric that doesn't slip around or apart when you come to machine it. I found it really helpful to baste around the darts too.

3.  This didn't seem to be an issue with this particular fabric because the sequins are so tiny (see below), but for most of the other fabrics I saw I think it would be wise (and kinder on your machine and needle) to remove sequins along the seam lines. I've had to do that with beaded fabrics in the past, and I think most sequin fabric might require similar treatment. (I kind of wish I'd removed all of the sequins from all seam allowances in order to "de-bulk" the seams too) In which case...

4.  ....save all the removed sequins to hand sew back on once seams are sewn. Dull but again worth it.

5.  A longer stitch length seems to give a smoother finish. I used the 3 1/4 setting on my machine.

6.  Hand finish wherever possible!

I'm sure that's not a comprehensive list, but those are my discoveries anyhow. :)

On to the top. This probably shouldn't have worked - which is no comment at all on the pattern, believe me! It's drafted for knit fabrics, and this is a woven with a little bit of spandex thrown in. I couldn't find any knits that were fine enough for the blousey look I wanted. So I got this, hoping that since it's a looser fit the lesser stretch wouldn't be too much of an issue. And it wasn't - in the body. But the neck...well, let's just say I'll be doing hair and makeup after I've got it on! I cut the neckband piece on the bias, and that's the only reason I can get it on at all.

You can see that even with the bias cut, I've stretched it a little getting it on and off...

The only modifications I made to the pattern was to shape it at the sides a bit. I'll probably only ever wear it tucked in, but just in case I do wear it out I need a bit of shape for flattery. Boxy cuts don't really work on me. It's a great pattern though, and has definitely whetted my appetite to try more Named designs.

I've had a bit of a think about how else I can wear the skirt; I'm really trying to get a bit more adventurous when it comes to styling. I think it'll work for winter, with opaque tights and a cropped jumper/sweater. And I think, under certain circumstances, it could be dressed down with a slouchy tee, sandals and a denim jacket. Or it could work with a cardi, or a white shirt, or singlet top. It's actually more versatile than I first thought!

But, I have two questions that I'd love some advice on:

1: All my choices above work I think, but are pretty "safe" colour combinations. What colour or colours would you pair with bronze?

and 2:  How on earth do you wash/clean/ care for sequins??

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

Inspired By: An Origami-ish Elisalotte and a Floaty Girly Frock

Well, it HAS been a while since I was last posting here! But I finally have something I'm allowed to show - some wedding-related sewing. Not THE wedding sewing, sorry - that'll have to wait till after the big day this weekend. But as of last Saturday it's all finished and packed off to the bridal party...which gave me a brief window of time to put together some dresses for my girl and me.

This was my original plan for my dress:

I still love it, and fully intend to make it some day, but just couldn't find any emerald lace that I liked. And I'm really not confident enough with dyeing (i.e. have never even attempted) to get around it in that way. Plus, I have to admit that given the acres and acres of chiffon that I've been sewing, the idea of something structured in a fabric that stayed put and did what it was told was mighty appealing! Since time was fast running out I went back through my 'dresses' Pinterest board and decided on this one:

...Mainly because of that two-tone origami-ish bow. Love. I'd just bought By Hand London's Elisalex dress and Charlotte skirt patterns, and thought that the Elisalotte combination would work nicely for this.Once I chopped off some length, that is. (Am I just short, or are the patterns drafted for the statuesque? Actually the answer to both is probably 'yes'...) I wasn't too interested in replicating the lines of the bodice above - I actually prefer the softer curves of the Elisalex anyway. A flying trip to Melbourne netted me some pretty sumptuous shot silk dupion in lavender and aubergine.And here tis!

I hadn't ever tried sewing with this fabric before - it was interesting! Almost like sewing flexible paper, or very thin sheets of aluminium foil. At first I was worried that it was a bit too light-weight for a structured dress like this. But it holds its shapes amazingly - in fact at times it was actually a bit like sculpting. And I think I would have struggled with a heavier fabric, say a delustred satin, when it came to doing the front bow; I think it would have become very bulky very quickly. As it is, the silk sits nice and flat against the main dress - and folds stay exactly where you put them!

 I feel a bit like I'm channeling my inner Barbie, but hey, there's a time and place for that :) And it really feels wonderful on. Back view for Nessa below :) (Must watch my posture in future...) The lower scooped back is possibly my favourite feature of Elisalex.

From the inspiration picture, I worked out that there was one main bow which had the ties originating from the side seams at the waist. Then there's a second piece - imagine a capital T shape with a wide trunk that narrows diagonally each side to the base. The ends of the T's upper crossbar are also sewn into side seams, but underneath the main bow's ties. The "trunk" is folded up concertina-style and slipped through the loop that forms the knot of the main bow. Confusing? Yes. In the end, I didn't have enough fabric to do that "T" shape anyhow (only bought a metre of each colour) so had to adapt. I ended up instead with just the "trunk" - see below:

I folded this and slipped it through the knot and then positioned it where I wanted it. I swear, it really is like sculpting, it doesn't move unless you make it move! I did do a few hand stitches in a couple of places, just to be sure it would absolutely stay in place when worn all day.

I do wish I could have gotten some nicer lining (this is just bemsilk), but I kind of spent all my money on the main fabric....

This last shot gives a much better idea of the bodice fabric's colou. It looks a bit washed out in those outdoor photos. And honestly, could these two patterns go together any more beautifully?! (Pretty proud of that invisible zip work there, too.)

So that's me set for Saturday! But I'd also promised my girl a new dress, and she asked if I'd make her one. I said I would....right before she asked - apologetically - if it could be made of chiffon. (She may have overheard some chiffon-based ranting once or twice.) I stifled my urge to shriek "Dear God, no!!!" to the heavens, and we had us a look at Pinterest. Almost immediately, she found this:

Being twelve, she thought the colour was boring, so requested aqua instead. And she wanted the flowers going right around the neckline/yoke. I had a fossick through my patterns and found New Look 6785, which I'd never even used. I think I got it in one of those 3 for 1 sales once upon a time:

Look at View A! Done, and done. It really was just a matter of making sure the yoke wasn't gapey - I had to take it up at the shoulders about 1", and pinch 2cm out of the front fold. I made the chiffon layer of the front and back as wide as the fabric itself (115cm) and cut it out the length of View B. She's pretty happy with it!

I wasn't much looking forward to making the fabric flowers - I'm really, really tired! - but then I remembered that Kaisercraft, who I work for, sells lengths of these chiffon ribbon roses:

Yay, and hooray! Happy girl, and happy me. And I can't tell you how wonderful it was to have a quick project after the past four months - this was Saturday evening and Sunday morning before church. Win!

Now, assuming there's no eleventh hour problem with the wedding party dresses (rationally I know there won't be, but I don't think I'll fully relax until they've all made it down the aisle), I can put the machine away and reclaim my dining table....

I plan to do the Wedding Post on Sunday. If I'm not asleep, that is...

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

Inspired by: Jacket/Kimono/Shruggy Thing

Hello all :) I've been doing some thinking since finishing my Sew Weekly Reunion dress. It was really satisfying going "off-pattern" like that; I haven't done that for a while. And since joining Pinterest I have hundreds of pins I love the look of. (Pinterest is basically a sewing inspiration board as far as I'm concerned...) Now, while I don't want to fall into the trap of feeling like I have to make everything I see, there's no real point in collecting inspiring images if I don't ever do anything with them.

So I've decided to do an "Inspired By..." make on a semi-regular basis from now on. I'm thinking I'll wait till I notice the same kind of garment cropping up over and over in my likes/pins and go from there. I'm hoping that'll keep it manageable!

And here's the first one. I admit that "jacket/kimono/shruggy thing" doesn't sound all that alluring, but I have LOTS of pins like these below:

As we're moving into Spring weather already (I swear the weather has been watching the calendar here: 1st September and BANG! it was Spring) this seemed the perfect project to kick off with. Plus, I saw a friend the other day who was wearing a similar garment the other day, mentioned to her how I was wanting to make something just like that, and she immediately passed it over and told me to use it to draft a pattern. (she's a very good friend :) )

This is her jacket: (night time photo, I'm afraid). Believe me, it looks much nicer on, but this gives an idea of the actual shape. It was a bit tricky sketching out the pattern, because the pieces don't lie flat, and then the band (formed by two pieces) that extends right around the edges pulls the main pieces in still further.

 I used a multi-coloured chiffon with an almost abstract feather print (about 2m in all), and as much as I genuinely loathe working with chiffon, it's perfect for this kind of floaty jacket. 

We ended up with this:

I actually love it! It's exactly what I wanted it to be, and I think it's going to get a lot of wear this season, and right through into summer (great for early mornings or late evenings). In fact, it'll probably see me through into Autumn as well. Woo hoo!

For anyone who's curious, this is what the pattern pieces look like. The smaller piece is the front - this sits over the top of the larger back piece. The straight edge on the front is the opening; the small slightly jutting out sections on both pieces form the sleeve openings.

The top of the back piece folds down so that there's a straight horizontal seam at the front, just above the bust.

Below you can see the back folded over to meet the front piece, which is laid over the top. I guess you could eliminate this and just have a "normal" shoulder seam, but as is it seems to drape really nicely over the shoulders when worn. And I think it's quite a nice design detail. :)

When I cut the (9.5cm wide when folded, plus seam allowance....22cm width total) two edging bands - these sew together at the back centres at neck and hem - I broke the "rules" and cut them across the grain. This was because if I can avoid cutting chiffon (nasty, slippery stuff that it is) I will. Cutting across the grain meant I could make a small cut and then tear the rest, which gave me PERFECTLY straight pieces with almost no effort. Gotta love that!

You know my favourite part of this make? Apart from ending up with something I'm going to wear until it literally falls apart around me, that is. The whole project, even including drafting the pattern and doing french seams on all seams, took three hours. Total. It's the first thing I've ever whipped up after a full day at work. This has never happened before, so I think that's worth celebrating a little!

There's one other thing I'm going to trial with this post. Me Made May '13 showed me that a lot of the things I've made (and was planning to make at that stage) didn't really go with anything else I had. This is an issue for someone who's trying to gradually replace her existing wardrobe with a hand-sewn one! Since then, I've tried to only buy fabric if I can think of at least three other things I already have that it will go with. It's actually been extremely helpful! So I'm going to try from now on to show that in each post - see below. Plus, I'm hoping it will give me some much needed practice in styling - not my forte at all!

 I think it'll also work really well as in the first photo at the top of this post with cut off denim shorts. I do have some, but it's far too early in the season to show any leg above the knee - the winter legs above are quite blindingly pale enough as it is!

What's inspiring you at the moment? Do tell!

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo